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Published on 9/4/2024.

Regular Board Meeting on October 1, 2024

Comments/Board Business

Land Acknowledgement:  Acting President of the Board Dr. Mullery read the District’s land acknowledgement recognizing our area’s Indigenous Peoples as the original stewards of the land that College of the Redwoods occupies. 

We acknowledge that the land on which we are gathered today is unceded territory of the Wiyot, Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Yurok. We honor them and all neighboring tribes by our ongoing commitment to developing trusting, reciprocal, and long-lasting partnerships.

Member Comments: Trustee Kelley provided a written CCCT report. I attached his report to this board meeting summer. Trustee Pedrotti and Acting President Dr. Mullery stated that they attended the Government Relations webinar on September 17. Trustee Dorn mentioned that he attended the last Foundation Board of Directors meeting and as well as the fall convocation/mixer. Trustee Mathews shared that she, Shauna Burdick, and I met with Kevin Hartwick a few weeks ago.

Board Committee Reports: Acting President Dr. Mullery noted that she and Trustee Mathews serve on the board’s ad hoc policy committee and submitted a revised BP 2710 and AP 2710 for a first read at this meeting.

Approve Trustee Kelley as a Voting Delegate at the ACCT Conference: We are entitled to one vote during the Annual ACCT Leadership Conference, October 23-26, 2024. The Board approved Trustee Kelley to vote at the conference.

Amend Board Meeting Dates, Times, and Locations for 2024: The Board voted to change the December Board meeting date from December 10 to December 17, 2024. What is behind the change? Since this is an election year, we must hold the December meeting within a fifteen (15) day period commencing with the date upon which the elected governing board member takes office (the second Friday in December). The date on which elected trustees will take office this year is December 13, 2024.

Appoint Ad Hoc Committee on Nominations for Board Officers: Acting President Dr. Mullery appointed Trustee Biggin and Trustee Pedrotti to this ad hoc committee. The ad hoc committee will present a slate of board officers at the November meeting. The Board will vote on the slate of officers, or nominations from the floor, at their organizational meeting on December 17, 2024.

Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: I want to congratulate Iris Vasquez for her change of status from Student Development Advisor to Special Programs Academic Advisor in Del Norte. The Board ratified my decision to accept the resignations of Assistant Professor of Social Work and Human Services Nathalie Dierkx, District Accounting Analyst Mitchell Lucky, and Instructional Support Specialist II Kelly Mottershead. They also ratified my acceptance of Reno Giovannetti’s retirement as our Instructional Technologist effective June 30, 2025. I want to say that Reno’s dedication, hard work, and commitment to our students and faculty will leave an indelible mark on College of the Redwoods. The innovative projects he has spearheaded and the positive influence he has had on our distance education program will be remembered for years to come.

Approve/Ratify Contracts, Agreements, MOUs: The Board approved or ratified several contracts and agreements at this meeting. There is one agreement I want to specifically mention. We entered into a one-year contract with the Bear River Casino Resort to house some of our students because we do not have the enough capacity in our residence halls to accommodate all the students wanting to attend CR and desiring to live in the dorms. We do not want to turn students away at a time when we are doing all we can to make sure we meet our enrollment target this year. The $100,000 cost of the contract will be by paid by our special revenue fund and not the general fund.

Approve Curriculum Changes: The Board approved the creation of six new courses, one new degree, the revision of twenty-eight courses, and twelve degrees/certificates, and the deactivation of eleven courses. I want specifically to mention the new courses that our faculty created: Art 9 Arts of Africa, Oceania and Indigenous North American, ASAM 2 Asian American Studies 2: Contemporary Issues of Asian Americans, ENGL 30 Introduction to Creative Writing, Math 32 Precalculus and Trigonometry, Math 50AS Support for Math 50A, and PE 39 Intercollegiate Rodeo. Also created was the AST degree in Social Work and Human Services for Transfer.

Action/Discussion Items

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: This month's report covered the period of July 1, 2024 to August 30, 2024. I want to note that:

• We did not make any adjustments to the budget since it was approved at the September 3, 2024 meeting.
• Our state apportionment revenue is lower compared to this time last year because when this report was generated, the August apportionment had not been booked yet.
• Our enrollment fee revenue is higher than at this time last year because of the increase in our enrollment.
• While our salaries and benefits are tracking slightly higher than this time last year, our overall expenditures are tracking lower than last year.
• Our transfers out are comprised of $90,000 to the Child Development Center, $74,720 to the Shively Farm, $750,000 to the OPEB fund (this may be diverted to Capital Outlay), and $500,000 to our Debt Service fund for a total of $1,417,890.
• Although the monthly financial status report shows a projected 2024-25 Unrestricted General Fund ending fund balance of 11.1% it is important to mention that the 2024-25 Beginning Fund balance is still an estimate since we are currently working through the 2023-24 fiscal year closing process.

First Read of Board Policies and Administrative Procedures: The Board executed a first read of Board Policy 2710 and Administrative Procedure 2710. As noted above, Acting President Dr. Mullery and Trustee Mathews revised BP 2710 and AP 2710 to make sure that Financial Interest in a Decision language found in Government Code Section 1090, Government Code Section 87100, and in the Fair Political Practices Commission’s (FPPC) Political Reform Act is reflected in our policies. I sent both policies to our attorney for review.

Informational Reports

Recognitions: In this agenda item, I recognized Professor Valeria Elder for her contribution to the book “Roots and Resilience - California Ranchers in their Own Words” by Dr. Susan Marshall, emeritus professor of rangeland resources and wildland soils at Cal Poly Humboldt. Here is a description of the book.

In Roots and Resilience, the authors invite readers to consider an intimate relationship with the California landscape and its history. Ranching in the region goes back centuries, and many of these essayists have long family lineages in the area, while other contributors are newer to the region. Through their authentic voices, these writers provide a lens through which we can better understand the language of this landscape.
The editors have drawn together these stories, poems, and musings from ranchers across the state, calling upon real people to share their experiences, and beckoning readers to find a shared understanding concerning often divisive land-use topics. Many perspectives are considered, including those of transplanted suburbanites to seventh-generation heirs. Notably, many women’s writings are including in the book, offering unique and valuable perspectives on ranching culture.

Roots and Resilience gives voice to California’s Indigenous, Mexican American, Basque, and other European American ranchers, asking the reader to find common ground in the name of land stewardship and conservation.

If you are interested, the book will be available on November 12 via the University of Nevada Press and Amazon. Here is a link: https://unpress.nevada.edu/9781647791612/roots-and-resilience

I also recognized Professor Justine Shaw for her prolific collaborative research and publications.

• Justine M. Shaw and Alberto G. Flores Colin 2023 “Two Tales of a City: The Sacbeob at Yo’okop from the Viewpoints of Elites and Commoners,” in Construction of Maya Space: Causeways, Walls, and Open Areas from Ancient to Modern Times, edited by Jennifer Mathews and Thomas Guderjan. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
• Alberto G. Flores Colin and Justine M. Shaw 2017 “Cimientos circulares en la región de Cochuah; una aproximación a su función y temporalidad” Los Investigadores de la Cultura Maya XXVI:187-203. Universidad Autónoma de Campeche.
• Justine M. Shaw and Alberto G. Flores Colin 2015 “Cochuah Region,” “Ichkabal,” and “Kohunlich.” In Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya, edited by Walter R.T. Witschey, pp. 97, 177, and 197-198. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
• Linnea Wren, Travis Nygard, and Justine M. Shaw 2015 The Shifting Spatial Nexus of an Urban Maya Landscape: A Case Study of Architecture, Sculpture, and Ceramics at Yo'okop. In Maya Imagery, Architecture, and Activity: Space and Spatial Analysis in Art History, edited by Maline D. Werness-Rude and Kaylee R. Spencer, pp. 306-343. University of New Mexico Press.
• Justine M. Shaw (editor and contributor) 2015 “An Introduction the Cochuah Region and the CRAS Project,” “A Monumental Terminal Classic Sweatbath from Yo’okop,” and “The Problem of Mobility in Estimating the Extent of Terminal Classic Populations in the Cochuah Region.” In The Maya of the Cochuah Region: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on the Northern Lowlands, edited by Justine M. Shaw, pp.3-24, 77-96, 117-132. University of New Mexico Press.

Accreditation Update: Thanks to the magnificent work of Forestry and Natural Resources faculty members Valerie Elder and Madeleine Lopez our Forestry and Natural Resources AS degree in Forestry and Natural Resources Technology has been accredited by the Society of American Foresters (SAF), under its Forest Technology standard. The nationally recognized SAF accreditation allows CR students to apply a two-year degree toward qualifications for the state registered professional foresters' exam.

General Obligation Bond Refunding Update: One of the principal responsibilities of the Board is to ensure that the District is a good steward of the taxpayer’s money. This agenda item highlighted the work the District has done to meet this responsibility.

In summary, 

• On September 17th, the District successfully sold $10,830,000 of its 2024 General Obligation Refunding Bonds (“2024 Bonds”)
• Final maturity of all Measure Q debt will be August 2031 (7-years)
• 2024 bonds refunding generated over $665,000 in taxpayer savings, or approximately $603,000 in net present value savings, representing 5.3% savings of refunded bond
• The District has successfully issued three Measure Q refunding transactions and realized an aggregate $3.9 million in taxpayer savings over lifetime of the authorization
• The District will remain materially below the $18.00 per$100,000 assessed value tax rate promise.

I attached the refunding slide deck in the blog summary in case you want to take a look.

Organizational Reports

Academic Senate: President Erin Wall's written report noted that the Senate reviewed and approved the data and criteria faculty need to provide to the Curriculum Committee if they are going to be petitioning for a course to be a part of the CR General Education (CR GE) pattern and not CalGETC. She also wrote that faculty who participated in phase 1 of the Common Course Numbering Project over this past summer shared their experience with Senate and that the Senate had a retreat after their last meeting to focus on goal planning for this year.

In her verbal comments, Erin introduced Bernadette Johnson to the Board as the Vice President of the Academic Senate.

CRFO: President Haggerty spoke to her work with FACCC and our agreement to move to impasse over associate faculty healthcare benefits.

Classified: In President Engman’s written report, she wrote that classified staff ratified their Initial Proposal to the District for the 2024-2027 bargaining unit contract and that CSEA will be accepting nominations from the floor for Chapter President, Chapter Secretary, and Chapter Communications Officer during their October and November chapter meetings.

Management Council: In her written report to the Board, President Morgan Solem mentioned that the Management Council appoints representatives to the various committees and task forces to ensure that the management voice participates in the District’s decision making. She also wrote that the council celebrates the work of the MEC, including two of its members—Dr. Kintay Johnson and Ms. Irene Gonzalez—for helping CR students register to vote.

Verbally, Morgan recognized the outstanding work of Silas Sarvinski, Anthony Finck, and Ashley Mitchell for the 3^rd annual Farm to Table Dinner event.

Student Trustee Aerielle Alaniz: Student Trustee Aerielle Alaniz commented on the National Hispanic Heritage Month activities organized through our Multicultural and Equity Center. She also mentioned that she attended the Democratic of the Year award dinner for California Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent Report: My written report included the following information:

• I am forming a task force to oversee the process of developing, designing, and then implementing an appropriate mascot that aligns with the Education Master Plan and supports our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The task force will be comprised of one administrator, one representative from the Management Council, one CSEA representative, one faculty, and three or four students. So far, we have three people identified as task force members: Molly Blakemore (Chair), Maggie White (Faculty), and Pyuwa Bommelyn (Management Council).
• I discussed a recommendation to name a room in the new Physical Education Building after the Wilcox family with the Expanded Cabinet on September 26, 2024. The Expanded Cabinet, comprised of the District's administrative team as well as our constituent group leadership, supported the recommendation. I will submit a naming recommendation to the Board of Trustees in November.
• I shared links to resources relative to antisemitism, free speech rights, and activism.
  • https://pen.org/report/and-campus-for-all-diversity-inclusion-and-free-speech-at-u-s-universities/
  • https://forward.com/forward-newsletters/antisemitism-notebook/641364/major-jewish-groups-want-zionist-to-be-a-protected-class-on-campus/
  • https://www.hillel.org/what-universities-should-do-to-prepare-for-the-new-academic-year/?utm_source=The+Forward+Association&utm_campaign=6c2caf2f77-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_03_08_08_08_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-13ce9be381-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

In my verbal comments, I mentioned that the College collaborated with several key community and higher education partners to execute a three-day community conversation to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza. The Community Conversation was held a few weeks ago to promote a respectful spirit of dialogue and understanding of the Gaza crises from the perspectives of community, student, academic, and religious leaders. It was not focused on debate. The goal was to nurture an exchange in which neither side wins nor loses but both sides come away changed.

Indeed, I found the dialogue across different viewpoints transformative and came away the conversation more convinced and resolute that as leaders in higher education, we have a responsibility to stay away from the politics of the conflict but speak to the inhumanity we are seeing playing out daily. We must continue to be a key facilitator in modeling successful civil discourse—advocating for having conversations instead of debates. Moreover, we must do everything we can to calm fears while preserving freedom of speech and the right to protest for meaningful change before the next escalation and not wait to do so after spirals of fear, anger, and distrust start happening, I point to the November election and the rapidly expanding war the middle east as catalysts for heightened tensions.

I believe that our faculty and administrators must help students understand the value of engaging in such conversations, exercising their free speech rights, and participating in legal protests to make change.

I thanked Stuart Altschuler, Dr. Peter Blakemore, and Dr. Kintay Johnson for participating in the community conversation and more importantly staying engaged in the dialogue while maintaining humility in exceedingly difficult conversations.

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: In Julia's written report, she wrote that our CCFS-311 Annual Financial and Budget Report showed that our 50% Law calculation for 2023-24 is 53.7%. In comparison, we were just over 50% in 2022-23 calculation. So, our initiative-taking approach in 2023-24 to ensure our continued compliance with the50% Law requirement paid off. For reference, here is a chart showing our 50% Law calculations since 2016-17.

In her verbal comments, Julia juxtaposed our 2022-23 50% Law compliance calculation to the 2022-23 statewide 50% Law compliance percentages. She noted that the spectrum of 50% calculations for all California community college districts in 2022-23 ranged from 40.47% (San Mateo) to 60.07% (Feather River). Thirteen districts had calculations that were lower than CR’s 50% in 2022-23 year and thirty-one of the seventy-two districts—or 43%--had a calculation within the range of 50.01 to 50.90%. The statewide average was 51.21%.

Vice President of Instruction and Student Development (VPISD) Report: In her written report Crystal noted that:

• CR hosted Transfer Day on September 24 on the Eureka Campus. This event facilitated access to several university admissions counselors available to meet directly with students throughout the afternoon and evening.
• Fifteen of our ADTs are currently on track for certification under AB 928 as "Cal-GETC ready" by the deadline. The remaining four ADTs are on track to be certified as "in progress."
• Our ongoing Dolores Huerta speaker series will feature discussions on government involvement, the electoral process, and voter education. Speakers will include:
  • Juan Pablo Cervantes, Humboldt County Clerk Recorder, who will share his personal journey into public service.
  • Dr. Ryan Emenaker, CR Political Science Professor, who will provide an objective analysis of the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025" and its policy strategies.
  • Voices from marginalized communities, including Mark Taylor and Matthew McKinley, who will share their experiences working with incarcerated individuals and Native American students.
  • Dr. Kintay Johnson, CR's Director of Student Equity, covering important topics like media literacy and unbiased explanations of ballot measures.

Executive Director of College Advancement and the Foundation Report: In his written report, Marty wrote that:

• The CR Dinner & Auction has raised $248,000 to date.
• He has been partnering with Athletics to advance the rodeo program. He, Ryan Bisio, and new CR rodeo coaches Kelly & Gianna O’Day made a rodeo presentation to the Fortuna Sunrise Rotary on September 25, 2024. He and Bob Brown also made a presentation to the Ferndale Fairgrounds Board of Director’s Executive Committee on September 30 to discuss using the Fairgrounds as the training center for CR Rodeo.
• The Foundation Board forwarded a recommendation to recognize the Wilcox Family with a naming opportunity in the new Physical Education Building to me a few weeks ago. 
• He met with donors to establish a new trades scholarship and with a potential Redwoods Football Championship Club supporter.

Future Agenda Items, Reports, Requests for Information: The Board wants to include a discussion of conflict of interest and the Brown Act in the January board workshop agenda.